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First minor setback

Posted , 12 users are following.

gail24639
gail24639

Nearly  seven weeks post TKR and I know I shouldn't moan but my knee aches and feels like it weighs a ton, and my husband says I walk as if I have a wooden leg. I feel as if I was moving much better a month after the op. Any suggestions?

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • lyndawcanada59
    lyndawcanada59 gail24639

    Posted

    Have you been keeping up with your stretching exercises? I am almost 6 months post tkr and even now and again I find I need to stretch out my leg. After I walk a bit it also seems to help. Not too fast and not too far but if I have been sitting for a bit walking and getting it "worked in" does seem to help.
  • caroline46398
    caroline46398 gail24639

    Posted

    It's just a blip maybe you have been overdoing it, changed shoes, walking differently or not stuck to exercise routine. It is still healing for many months but now you have more feeling where before it was masked by swelling numbness and medication. I am five months post op but remember the block of wood feeling!
  • lorene30860
    lorene30860 gail24639

    Posted

    Hi Gail

    Your comments ring a bell with me. I'm 1 month post TKR and am so in tune with your wooden leg senario. I guess we need to hang in there but I am soooooo tired of the pain, discomfort and not sleeping.....Good luck. 

    • hazel14959
      hazel14959 lorene30860

      Posted

      I am 19 weeks today and I still sometimes get the stiff leg feeling if I have been doing too much.  I does go away but the not sleeping is getting to me, I have an appointment at the Docs tomorrow morning and am going to ask about the problem.
  • carol66249
    carol66249 gail24639

    Posted

    17/18 weeks post op and still often feels like a block of wood. Somedays I just take off without much thought to my leg and others I definately know I have been through hhe ringer. Definately feels much better once I have carried out my exercise routine but if I overdo it I will soon find out the hard way.
  • mark32801
    mark32801 gail24639

    Posted

    well it sounds like you need to participate in another round of PT.  The implants are all time-tested with excellent results, Physical Therapy seems to be the most reliable source of a good outcome. If you are not pushing yourself to get full extension and at least 90 degrees of flexion from weeks 1 to 8 then 2 things could happen.

    1) you will not get to full extension and 90+ degrees of flexion

    2) potential to walk like you have wooden leg.

    I am currently day 9 post-op knee replacement - I must say it is tough to be diligent with PT.....It hurts, and my foot/ankle is so swollen that I can't do half of the exercises........If I dont get up and walk around for 5/10 minutes each hour I get very stiff and painful......

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 gail24639

    Posted

    As we've mentioned here before, whether it's soft tissue, nerves or bone healing every part of the anatomy has its own timetable and sensation. There seems to be no way of bypassing them nor is there any way of knowing when they will hit. I do believe many feel like they have outlived the need for pain meds and stop too soon only to find they have to restart that part of the process, the same with ice. Try starting the entire basics over. Also, there is the tendency to think you're ready to go full blast but you still need rest, more rest than you can imagine. Cut back on activities, get to bed earlier and grab a mid day cat nap all the while adding additional fluids throughout the day

  • susan20089
    susan20089 gail24639

    Posted

    I don think its  a severe setback at all, this seems very normal to me, from what I remembercof the early days.  Remember you have walked a certain way for a long time and now you have something alien in your leg and you aren't trusting it to do the job.  It will weigh a ton for a while but this will go IN TIME.   I think there are too many expectations in the early days, obsessiveness about bend etc, that we forget how big this is.   Be kind to yourself, don't worry everything will follow.  Just exercises rests elevate, ice and rehydrate.   You will be fine xx
  • patsyrose
    patsyrose gail24639

    Posted

     Hi Gail

    Still very early days for you and all sounds very normal.

    The important thing, when walking, is to remember to roll your foot and then when you bring your leg forward bend your knee. It is hard work, but one day you'll think 'actually I feel OK!'.

    And, as others have said, keep up with the stretching.  Straightening has been an issue with both of my knees, so make sure you keep at it.

    Patsy

  • gail24639
    gail24639

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for the input and by the way Roland I think we need an update on you. What stretching exercises work best? I'm pretty religious with the leg raises

    Gail

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 gail24639

      Posted

      Gail....right now I'm still in an immobilizer and have been since March 4 so not sure how they will start me out on the bend part. I expect the 1st one will be wrapping a towel around the instep of the foot while laying on my back, head elevated, then pulling back on the towel as hard as I can and holding. 87th i s is done 10 x's to start. Then I sit on a high table grabbing the ankle of my bad leg with the back of my good leg and pulling back to pain level hold to 10 and repeat 10 x's building to 15. Usually the PT will work squatting and put me on a sled type apparatus that allows me to use my own body/leg strength to build lower body strength. This is going to be a very slow start so I'll see what happens on a day to day basis. As far as flat. I am almost there now as I am able to do leg presses during all of this immobilized period and I'm very close to zero right now. I'll Try to keep you advised as we go along
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 gail24639

      Posted

      One additional thought......slow it down. You are doing excercise for a purpose not to set speed records. When you streatch, do it slowly, hold for a count, relax, rest in between each movement even if it's for a count of 3. Its that combination that teaches the muscles

      When you walk.....slow...heel ball of the foot, toe, rest, think. That will force you to bend the knee when you walk. Tsme your time and then the good leg....same routine. At the mall they'll look at you like you have something wrong with you but let's face reality, you do. Good luck

    • gail24639
      gail24639 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Thanks for the update ( sounds unbrlievably slow) and for the advice. I don't care whether people stare - I just want to get it right. Slow is good- I can do that up and down the garden path.

      I wish your journey was as predictable though you seem sure of what's in store. Fingers crossed for you.

      Best

      Gail

  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 gail24639

    Posted

    It is still quite early days gail.

    Are you keeping up the exercises? Are you still having physiotherapy sessions?

    It is a long and hard road to recovery from this operation but certainly for me it has been well worth it. i had TKR 3 years ago.

    If you are still walking with a stick or crutches try walking without. This will help you get back to walking more normally and not so much as if you have a wooden leg.

    Take care and keep in touch

    Sarah xx

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